Graduate Assistantships and Cost of Study
Several graduate student assistantships within the Department of
Atmospheric Sciences are made available each year to qualified
students in atmospheric sciences and related topic areas. These
assistantships are funded through grants and/or contracts held by
departmental investigators. The annual student stipends for these
assistantships are currently (for the academic year beginning in
Fall 2011) set at approximately $23,818 for MS students and $25,725
for PhD students. Assistantship stipends are projected to increase
by about 5% per year. These research assistantships also
include partial payment toward tuition. All tuition and fees in
excess of those provided in the assistantship are the
responsibility of the student.*
Most graduate assistantships are based on half-time commitment
(20 hours/week) during the school year, and full time commitment
for three months (40 hours/week) during the summer. Activities to
be carried out by a research assistant are assigned and monitored
by the principal investigator. In order to qualify for the partial
tuition payment, students must carry 9 credit hours during the
school year and 6 credit hours during the summer. This requirement
is reduced after a student has fulfilled all coursework
requirements.
Full-time students pay campus fees which average about $1,673.00
per semester (based on 9 credit hours). Graduate research
assistants pay those fees and, in addition, are assessed tuition at
the special rate of $57.70 per credit hour. Any graduate research
assistant earning $2,710 or more per semester with full-time status (normally 9 or more credit hours) qualifies for this
special tuition rate. Students who are not graduate research
assistants must pay the regular graduate course tuition rate of
$173.25 per credit hour for residents of South Dakota or $366.70
per credit hour for non-resident students.
The atmospheric sciences master of science program is included
in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). Students who are
residents from any of the cooperating states (Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) may enroll in
the SDSM&T atmospheric sciences program at in-state rates
($139.10 per credit hour).
Download and search the current
SDSM&T catalog for tuition and fees information (FY11
rates).
*Rates above are an estimated average; each student's
circumstances will determine the exact cost.